The Six Times Maureen Johnson Cried
by firafly2014
Summary: Maureen Johnson was tough as nails. Everybody knew it. She never cried. Well, almost never.
1. Intro

**This was just something I had floating around in my head for a while, there'll be more to come.**

**I do not own RENT, never have, never will. **

Maureen Johnson was tough as nails. Everyone knew it.

Sure, she may have been over-dramatic at times, but she was tough. Although she had occasional breakdowns, who didn't?

Maureen Johnson took what was given to her, no tears allowed. She may not have liked it, but the important thing was that she never cried.

Well, almost never.

**Sorry it's so short, it needed a setup...**


	2. 1

**Sorry for the long delay in updates, I had a busy week!**

Maureen lay sprawled out on the beat up couch, her head buried under a frayed pillow. She shuddered, wrapping the old blanket Collins' had offered her tighter around her shoulders.

"You okay honey?" Angel called from the small kitchen where she had been raiding the near-empty fridge for beer.

"Nooo!" Maureen wailed, lifting her head.

"Shhh, shhh. It's okay," Collins soothed, stroking her mahogany hair.

"Nooo, it's not!" Maureen accepted the cold beer Angel held out to her, chugging down half before stopping to swipe halfheartedly at the froth amassed on her upper lip. Tears dripped down her cheeks, leaving tracks in her makeup.

Angel sank down next to her, and Maureen blubbered on.

"I, I, I was so fucking stupid!" She sputtered. "Joanne!"

"Joanne's not here, baby. It's just Collins and me." Angel put an arm around the sobbing diva, holding her close.

"I know!" Maureen wailed again. "I completely fucked everything up! What am I gonna do?"

"We'll figure it out. Don't worry. Angel and I are here." Collins moved to Maureen's other side, enveloping the drama queen in a much needed hug.

"Okay," Maureen moaned miserably, tears still falling from her heavily mascaraed eyes.

Hours later, the sun dawned on Alphabet City, and Maureen Johnson still cried.

**Hmm, not as great as I had hoped. **


	3. 2

**Here ya go! Huge thanks to anyone who read or reviewed! **

"Argh!" Maureen sat on the couch, spiral-bound notebook in one hand, chewed pencil in the other.

"No, that won't work either!" She vehemently crossed something off the page, tearing the paper in the process.

Angel's health had been deteriorating for a while now, and Maureen wanted to perform some kind of tribute to her. She had been working on it for over a week, but it just wasn't coming together.

Frustrated, Maureen paced back and forth on the floor of Collins' and Angel's apartment, where Maureen herself had been staying ever since her fight with Joanne over a month ago.

"Why? Why the fuck doesn't this make any sense?" She screamed out to nobody.

Storming over to the fridge to get a beer, she paused in her step. A sound befitting a dying cat was coming from outside the door, growing closer with each passing second.

Collins burst in, tears pouring down his face, sobbing at the top of his lungs.

"Oh my god! What happened?" Maureen hurriedly set her beer down and surrounded Collins in a hug.

"Gone. She's….gooone!" He wailed, crumpling to the ground.

Maureen didn't have to ask who it was. She knew.

_Angel._

She slowly led Collins over to the couch, supporting him so he wouldn't collapse. Tears streamed down her face, and she didn't even bother to wipe them away.

_She couldn't be gone! She just couldn't! _

"When?" Maureen managed, gulping for air.

"Just n-n-n-now." Collins gasped, curling into the fetal position, his body wracked with sobs.

Maureen said nothing, just held him tighter, tears overflowing from her own eyes.

"I, I can't believe she's gone!" Collins moaned, mouth contorted into a wail.

"Me neither."

"Who do I have left?" Collins asked helplessly, turning his head to the sky.

"Me. You've got me." Maureen said fiercely. "And Mark, Roger, Mimi, Joanne. We're all here. We'll get through this together."

"Promise?" Collins asked, much like a little child.

"Promise."

They both sobbed until there were no more tears, each mourning the loss of Angel, the one who brought them together again.

**Reviews make my life complete...**


	4. 3

**A huge shout out to my friend, LonelyKangaroo, who proofread this for me and caught all my silly mistakes! If you haven't read her stories, you definitely should. They're really great!**

Collins laid a final rose on Angel's coffin and slowly walked away, his face contorted into a frown, tears streaming down his cheeks, as if each step away from his beloved pained him.

The group of eight, now down to seven, grudgingly trudged up the hill that would lead them out of the cemetery and into the parking lot.

Roger stormed off, Mark running after him like a pathetic puppy, and Mimi turned away, unwilling to show the hurt in her eyes. Benny put an arm around her shoulders, and they slowly walked away.

Collins ambled aimlessly, tears streaming down his face, both hands clutching at the leather jacket Angel had bought him the year before.

That left only Maureen and Joanne.

Joanne sat slumped against a wall, looking utterly helpless as tears leaked out of her brown eyes.

Seeing this broke Maureen's heart. She took a deep breath, and headed over to where Joanne sat, silently wiping away the tears that rested on Joanne's cheeks with the pads of her fingers.

"I'm so sorry, pookie," whispered Maureen, gently pressing her lips against Joanne's.

Joanne made to move away, to tell her that it was over, but the desperate look in Maureen's eyes stopped her.

Joanne kissed her back, running her fingers through Maureen's thick hair.

Without breaking the kiss, Maureen sat down on the ground, and Joanne climbed into her lap.

Maureen moaned against her lips. "I love you, baby."

"I know," Joanne slid her tongue into Maureen's mouth, deepening the kiss.

A few minutes later, Joanne rolled off Maureen's lap, pulling Maureen up with her.

Maureen tried to kiss her again, but Joanne pulled away. Maureen pouted.

"Let's go home," Joanne told her, sliding her hand into Maureen's.

Together they walked up the hill, the autumn leaves swirling around them.

Tears dripped from Maureen's cheeks, smudging her mascara.

They had known Angel for less than a year, but she had touched all their lives in more ways imaginable.

Maureen was tough, and tough people didn't cry, but she decided to make an exception for Angel.

Some of the tears, though, were of joy.

She had Joanne back, And Maureen would never let her go again.

**Reviews make me happier than someone watching RENT on Broadway….**


	5. 4

**Finally, an update!**

**I'm still looking for a beta, so PM me if you're interested!**

Snowflakes drifted from the heavens, and Maureen smiled. "A gift from Angel," she pointed to one, causing Joanne to laugh.

"Yeah, baby," Joanne slid her hands into Maureen's back pockets, giving her ass an affectionate squeeze.

Maureen giggled, turning around to plant a quick kiss on Joanne's lips.

"You're cold?"

"Yeah," Joanne admitted, taking the manicured hand Maureen held out to her.

Together, the two walked hand in hand throughout the frozen park, laughing happily, almost forgetting the reason they were there in the first place.

"Maureen, look!" Joanne turned sharply, eyes focused on a snow covered bench nearby.

"What?" Maureen asked, shivering.

"Come here a minute." Joanne walked briskly over to the bench, brushing snow off the grimy leopard print coat.

Maureen gasped, clutching Joanne's free hand tighter. "It's Mimi!"

"I know!" Joanne reluctantly let go of Maureen, gently rolling Mimi onto her back. "She's unconscious."

With a groan, Joanne hoisted Mimi into her arms, awkwardly shifting her around until she lay curled like a baby.

"We have to get her back to the loft!" Maureen took off at a run, Joanne following awkwardly behind.

Mimi lifted her head, half-closed eyes blearily surveying the world. "Wha? Huh? Roge—?"

"—Shh. It's okay. I've got you, Joanne reassured, hurrying to catch up with Maureen at the next corner without disturbing Mimi further.

"Can you get her legs?" Joanne panted, coming to a stop next to Maureen.

"Yeah," Maureen turned away, hiding the tears that rested on the apples of her cheeks. She sniffed. She wouldn't—couldn't—lose another friend so soon after Angel.

Mimi was teetering on the brink, but she would make it. She _had _to make it.

Sweeping Mimi up in her arms, Maureen took off at a fierce trot, running as fast as she possibly could without slipping on the many patches of ice.

Joanne soon caught up, taking Mimi's legs without a word.

Together they ran through the silent, frozen, streets of New York, determined that nothing more would happen to their friend.

**Hmmm. Shorter than I had hoped...**


	6. 5

**Finally, an update!**

When she was a child, Maureen had dreamed of a fairy-tale princess wedding, complete with a prince and thousands of presents.

She was sixteen when she realized that wouldn't happen.

Now she paced back and forth along the carpeted hallway in the apartment she and Joanne shared, waiting for her Pookie to come home from the office.

In one hand she clutched a messily wrapped box, and in the other, a beer, now half empty.

The door swung open, and Maureen hurriedly stashed her small present behind a small table.

"Happy birthday, baby!" Joanne threw her arms around a beaming Maureen, kissing her deeply.

"Come sit with me on the couch," Maureen abruptly pulled out of the kiss and bounding over to the overstuffed sofa, snagging her box along the way.

"Is everything okay, honey?" Joanne tentatively followed Maureen. It was unlike her to refuse a kiss.

Maureen didn't answer, just patted the spot besides her. Joanne sat, looking at Maureen expectantly.

"Okay, I'm here. What's up?"

Maureen took a deep breath. "You know how you asked me what I wanted for my birthday?"

Joanne nodded, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"This is what I want." Maureen set the box in Joanne's palm.

"Baby, what are you doing?"

Maureen just smiled.

Joanne slowly peeled away the shimmery silver paper, revealing a navy blue satin box underneath.

Joanne gasped. "Honeybear…"

Maureen smiled, gently taking the box from her.

"Every time I look at you, I fall in love all over again. I want to do this for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?" She opened the box, revealing an elegant gold band, inlaid with a single diamond. It wasn't flashy, because Joanne didn't like flashy. It was humble, yet striking. It was perfectly _her._

"Oh, baby!" Joanne gasped, tears in her eyes.

Maureen fidgeted nervously, her confident smile slipping.

Joanne said nothing more, enveloping Maureen in a hug, which quickly turned to a heated kiss.

Breaking contact for only a moment, Maureen slipped the ring onto Joanne's mocha finger.

Maureen kissed the tip of Joanne's ring finger, trailing her lips up her hand and arm, lingering to plant four perfect hickies on her neck, then traveling up to meet her lips again.

"I love you," Joanne sighed against Maureen's lips, pulling away to stare at the beautiful diva.

"Baby! What's wrong?" Joanne asked, noticing the tears that spilled silently from Maureen's large green eyes.

"Nothing. I'm just...so happy!"

"Me too, baby. Me too."

**Reviewers get hugs from Collins and/or Angel!**


	7. 6

**Sorry for the long wait, it turns out I had Valentines Day plans after all! **

**This one was particularly hard to write. Hope I did it justice...**

Maureen fidgeted nervously with the hem of her black wedding gown. ("_I look better in black!" she had protested._)

Mimi swatted her hand away. "You'll mess it up!"

Maureen pouted back at her, but Mimi just smiled, enveloping her friend in a hug.

The diva paced back and forth, , wringing her hands.

"Shouldn't we have started already?" The black heel of her stiletto thumped the linoleum floor in time to an imaginary beat only she could hear.

"It's alright. I'm sure everyone's just getting to their seats," Collins soothed, uncomfortably pulling at the neck of his tie.

"Can't they hurry up? It's hot in here!" Roger whined from his slumped position in the corner.

Mark shot him a look, silencing the rocker. _Not now, _he warned.

Suddenly, music swelled through the room from the hall, and Maureen jumped, banging into Mimi.

"Whoah! Steady girl." Mimi righted the nervous bride, taking Maureen's sweaty hand in between her two dry ones. "It's all right. We're here."

"Let's go! Let's go!" Maureen shook her hand loose from Mimi's, using it instead to gesture frantically at the others who stood, crowded in the room with her.

Maureen threw open the door, striding out with her head held high, although everyone knew she was nearly quaking with nerves.

Behind her followed her four friends—each dressed to the nines—who would accompany her down the aisle. ("_It's unconventional! One person walks you down the aisle, not four!" Roger had told her. "We're unconventional!" Maureen had replied._)

The upbeat song slowly faded into the traditional wedding march. Maureen took a deep breath, clasped the hands of both Collins and Mark—who stood on either side of her—and slowly made her way down the aisle.

As the procession neared Joanne, Maureen gasped.

Her pookie had shed her preferred suits and ties for a simple dress, not overly garish or flashy, but perfect in every way.

Joanne flashed her a smile as Maureen took her hand.

As the man who was officiating cleared his throat, tears welled in Maureen's eyes—but she let them be.

Maureen may have been a drama queen, she may have been a flirt, she may have been an actress, but above all that, she was a person, and people cried.

**That's all for this story, folks! I hope you enjoyed! **

**I can always use ideas, PM me if you have something you want written! I'll credit you, I promise.**


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